- The initiative, led by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, represents a milestone at the European level with respect to data sovereignty and strategic autonomy.
- The project has been called “Operation Guernica” because of its relevance to the return to Spain of the data provided by the students using various techniques during their imprisonment.
- Microsoft is the first cloud service provider to confirm to the Spanish government that this data already exists in the EU and to offer the possibility of returning it to the national territory following the launch of its cloud region in Spain in the coming months. promises.
- The First Vice President stressed that “data sovereignty is essential to the economic future, it is a strategic pillar in the new digital open economy” and stressed that governments and technology companies should do more to strengthen the strategic autonomy that data sovereignty represents. Let’s move forward together. , Respecting the Charter of Digital Rights, of which Spain is a pioneer in Europe.
The Spanish government has entered into a transnational agreement with Microsoft to repatriate data stored in the European Union to Spanish educational centers on the technologies children use, especially those that originated during the pandemic. The US company has been the first cloud service provider to confirm that data provided to Microsoft in the use of Teams remains within the EU, and to offer the possibility of returning them to the national territory after its cloud is put into operation. promises. region in Spain.
The initiative was promoted by the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation as a result of concern arising from the processing of student data during the pandemic. The project has been called “Operation Guernica” for its importance in returning Picasso’s works of art to Spain with the advent of democracy.
The return of this information is a milestone for data sovereignty at the European level and, internally, for the digitization strategy promoted by the government. The protection of the data of Spanish citizens, and especially of children, implies a commitment to digital rights, which are human rights, promulgated through the Charter of Digital Rights, and which are already a reference and inspiration in the EU and Ibero has been taken as American country.
Unprecedented commitment to Spain
Online chat and communication platforms were very helpful in connecting students with their schools and making progress with their schoolwork. During this time, the government stifled debate on the storage and processing of data from Spanish schools through various meetings with the sector. Microsoft has been the first sensitive company in this regard and has confirmed through its president, Brad Smith, that all small data provided to Microsoft in the use of Teams is already processed and stored in EU data centers.
Nadia Calvino, First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, stressed that “data sovereignty is essential for the economic future, it is a strategic pillar in the new digital open economy”.
Calvino highlights that governments and technology companies must move together to strengthen the strategic autonomy represented by data sovereignty while respecting the charter of digital rights, with Spain leading the way in Europe.
The company also commits to offer the possibility of transferring this data from its servers in the European Union to Spain through the Advanced Data Residency program, when it will be stored in Microsoft data centers in our country.
Microsoft announced the EU Data Boundary Initiative in May 2021, designed to provide greater control and transparency over personal data, as well as to address its storage and processing on servers in the EU.
Microsoft President Brad Smith has said: “In today’s global economy, customers, including schools and other public sector customers and businesses in Spain, are looking for ways to grow to advance their goals, protect their data and improve efficiency.” To support them, we are committed to providing reliable cloud services that are designed to harness the full power of public clouds while respecting European values and the needs of sovereignty.
To meet the needs of customers in the European Union, the company has opened and is building data centers in more than 17 European regions, including Spain.
Digital Sovereignty: A Strategic Line of Government
The repatriation of data provided to Microsoft, now stored in the EU, represents a step forward in the digital sovereignty that the Spanish government proclaims at the European and national level. One of the objectives of this strategy is for the EU to be able to decide on how to implement its digital transformation, always taking into account respect for digital rights and leaving no one behind.
In this context, digital sovereignty is built, among other things, on data sovereignty, that is, on the ability of individuals and organizations to decide with whom to share their data and under what conditions.
Spain is implementing this concept with the help of the National Data Office, which organizes a national data sharing ecosystem on the principles of sovereignty, federalism and transparency from three clear aspects: advancement of industrial data sharing legislation, definition of policies and Deployment of consortium technologies that promote the creation of a common European data space.
All this is included in the Digital Agenda 2026, Spain’s roadmap to successfully complete its digital transition process. The initiative includes an ambitious proposal for measures that are already having an impact on the country’s production model and economic growth, as evidenced by Spain’s leading position as well as its European partners and its leadership in the international debate on the digital transition. Displayed by role. ,